The present invention relates to the field of electronic commerce. In particular, the invention relates to a technique for selling and delivering consumer products to customers using a data network. Still more specifically, the present invention provides methods and apparatus by which availability information for a plurality of products is provided in real-time via the Internet.
Electronic commerce via the Internet is rapidly changing the way in which products and services are purchased by and delivered to consumers. An important challenge faced by most businesses relates to ensuring that sufficient inventory is available to respond to consumer demand for advertised products. This problem is exacerbated by the high speed and the level of automation which characterizes e-commerce. That is, because the number of customer orders is not limited in the same way as it is, for example, in brick-and-mortar retail sites, it is difficult for conventional inventory distribution channels to anticipate and match the demand for specific products.
In addition, because of the static way in which most e-commerce sites present information to consumers, items for which inventory has been depleted are often presented as available to a consumer until an attempt is made to place an order for such items. Such systems typically respond with apologetic messages stating that the selected item is not currently in stock. Worse still, some systems do not even have mechanisms by which consumers are notified that specific items are currently unavailable. For the frequent Internet shopper, typically an individual for whom instant response is expected, this is a frustrating experience, especially to the extent that it occurs repeatedly.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for techniques which allow e-commerce sites to provide up-to-date availability information to consumers. Such techniques will be crucial to the success of the businesses which adopt the electronic paradigm.